SHOPPING CART
The Shopping Cart option is an easy-to-use e-commerce utility you can install on your site.  It allows you to sell merchandise on your site and gives your customers a user-friendly way to quickly find and purchase merchandise.  Additionally, new features for the Shopping Cart are being developed which will further enhance the capabilities of this resourceful tool.

Select the Install AlaCart button.  A message displays indicating that AlaCart will be installed within approximately ten minutes.

Configuring The Shopping Cart
Near the bottom of the screen select the Setup AlaCart Configuration link.  The AlaCart Shopping Cart Program displays at the Start Screen page.

Enter your AlaCart user name in the User Name field.  This can be a new user name; it does not have to be the same as your account user name.  Enter a password for that user name in the New Password field.  Re-enter the password, typed exactly the same way, in the Enter New Password Again field.  If you make a mistake, select the Reset button to clear all fields, then re-enter the information.

Select the Update Password button.  The Change Paths portion of the Start Page displays.

Enter your domain name in the Your Domain Name field.

Warning: Remember that your domain name does not include "www".  I.e., enter mycompany.com as opposed to www.mycompany.com .

The Path to Shopping Cart field defaults to s-cart .  This is the directory location of the shopping cart program and all of its associated files on your site.  Leave the default value as is unless you have a specific directory you would rather use.

If you make a mistake, click on the Reset button to clear all fields, then re-enter the information.  When completed, click on the Update Path button.  A Thank You message appears indicating the configuration was successful.

Note The Thank You message includes two links.  One link moves you to the setup page for the shopping cart; the second link runs the shopping cart function.  You may wish to write down these link addresses for future reference.

The Shopping Cart still needs to be administered (i.e., set up).  Continue with the next section.

Administering The Shopping Cart
Follow the link provided in the final step of the previous procedure (located underneath the statement To setup the Shopping Cart, go to: ).  The link will contain the text: s-cart/admin/index.phtml .  The AlaCart Administration Suite page displays.

There are six tools available in the Administration Suite.  The links across the top of the page link to the tools.  The links in the table are help references for the use of these tools.  Each of these tools is shown below.  To make use of any of these administration tools, single-click the tool and follow the on-screen instructions.

The "Look and Feel" Tool:
The "Look and Feel" Tool allows you to control colors, text and images that appear on your Shopping Cart.

Click on the Submit button to apply the changes you have made.  Click on the Reset button to restore all of the settings to their default values.  Single-click on the Help link for more information on using this tool.

The Categories Tool
The Categories Tool contains five main sections all shown in this section.  These sections allow you to create, delete and edit the product categories within your Shopping Cart.

Single-click on the Help link (available from all of the pages within the Category Tool for more information on using different features).

The Products Tool
The Products Tool works similarly to the Category Tool, allowing you to enter products that to offer for sale in your Shopping Cart.

The remaining options: Edit, Delete and List are all shown on the following page and work identically to their counterpart options in the Category Tool.

The Edit a Product Tool allows you to change information about an existing item already in your Shopping Cart.

The List of Products Tool shows you the products that are contained within your Shopping Cart.  (Note:  only one item appears in the screen below.)

The Delete a Product Tool allows you to remove items from your cart one at a time.

The Shipping Tool

The Tax Tool

The Order Options Tool

Running The Shopping Cart
Once your site has been configured and administered, you can run the Shopping Cart.  You may wish to do this periodically while setting up your site to verify that the setup is operating successfully.

How To Run the Shopping Cart
Follow the link provided in the final step of the Configuration procedure located under the statement: To run the Shopping Cart, go to: .  The link will likely contain the text: s-cart/index.phtml .  The Your Shopping Cart's Shop Entrance page displays. 

The AlaCart Shopping Cart is similar to many e-commerce utilities now in use on the web.  Essentially, your customer either browses the catalog or searches for an item until he/she finds the desired item.  Once the item is found, your customer adds it to his/her "shopping basket".  When ready to checkout, the customer confirms the items in the basket, and provides the method of payment.

To view products in various categories and sub-categories in your catalog, click on the Browse Catalog link.  The catalog displays at the top category level.  You can drill down into the various sub-categories.

Once you reach a level beyond which there are no further sub-categories, the list of products in the last selected sub-category is displayed.

Removing The Shopping Cart
The following procedure can only be used if the AlaCart Shopping Cart has already been installed on your site. 

From the Control Panel, select the Shopping Cart icon. The AlaCart Manager displays.

Select the Remove AlaCart button.  A message appears indicating that AlaCart will be removed from your site within approximately ten minutes.